Residents sound off on downtown revitalization

Visitors Margaret Suprenant of Champlain and Nancy Yelle of Rouses Point ventured to the downtown area for lunch and window shopping.

Photo by Teah Dowling

PLATTSBURGH — Visitors Margaret Suprenant and Nancy Yelle just finished eating at Hobie’s Sports Den when they decided to explore the downtown.

After walking the streets filled with shops and restaurants for the first time in a long time, the two wound back at the Durkee Street parking lot, contemplating their overall experience.

“It’s nice,” said Suprenant, who’s from Champlain. “But I think downtown can have a lot more.”

City and state officials are currently working on a spending plan for the $10 million award through the state to improve the downtown area.

A number of city dwellers and visitors put in their two cents on how the money should be spent.

‘NOTHING TO DO’

Laurie Saunders, who said she lives “outside the city,” said she visits the downtown area often with her granddaughter often and mentioned how she can easily spend $100 in just a day just through eating lunch and shopping for new clothes.

Town of Plattsburgh resident Jessica Fuller said shopping around the small businesses is her favorite thing to do downtown.

For those who don’t have the extra money to spend, like city resident Robert Baker, downtown is viewed differently.

“It’s boring,” he said. “There is nothing to do in this town other than drink... everything else costs an arm and a leg.”

Town resident Justin Furnia agreed, stating the only reason why he ventured into downtown was because of the bars, like Olive Ridley’s.

×

City and state officials no. 1 priority is transforming the Durkee Street parking lot into a new city center, incorporating an event area, art walk, additional waterfront access for canoes and kayaks and more.

Photo by Teah Dowling

TRANSFORMING THE LOT

City and state officials said their top priority is transforming the Durkee Street parking lot into a new city center, incorporating an event area, art walk, additional waterfront access for canoes and kayaks and more.

Baker and Furnia both said eliminating the parking lot would be a bad idea.

Furnia, 28, said the lack of parking spaces along the downtown streets, especially during the summer when outdoor seating happens, is a concern.

City officials previously brought up the possibility of adding a three-story parking garage to add more spaces.

If one is built, Baker said he hopes it will be free, like how the current parking lot is now.

“Our people are already struggling,” he said. “Our people cannot pay for rent, utilities, gas, car insurance and child care and expect us to pay for parking, too.”

‘BE LIKE BURLINGTON’

Right now, several free events take place along the waterfront in Trinity Park, including weekly summer concerts put on by First Weekends, an organization that provides family-friendly and free activities for community members and visitors of Plattsburgh.

While the city plans on utilizing the waterfront near the Durkee Street parking lot, Baker said transforming it into something similar to Burlington’s would be beneficial.

Along Lake Champlain, there’s a boardwalk filled with street performances, porch swings and more, said Baker, where anyone can go to relax and watch the water.

The 26-year-old Mold Rite Plastics worker said a similar waterfront could bring in a place not only for unwinding, but an area filled with free small variety performances year-round, like musicians and hula hoopers.

“There would always be something to watch and do,” he said.

Suprenant said closing off roads, like City Hall Place, and turning it into something similar to Church Street in Burlington.

Yelle, who’s from Rouses Point, agreed, stating that more shops and eateries would probably flock to the city by converting the area into a “summertime bistro.”

YOUNG PEOPLE INVOLVEMENT

Fuller, who works at Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital, said she’s aware of the $10 million award and how the city plans on spending those funds.

“I’m hoping the money will be used in a very productive way that will enhance the life of the residents in this area,” she said, referring primarily to young people.

The 22-year-old mother of a 9-month-old said creating an entertaining, but safe, space for kids to learn and develop would be a good way to spend the money.

Incorporating something for not only babies, but toddlers, pre-teens and teens, she said, would help keep them occupied, off the streets and out of trouble.

“We want to prevent our kids from negative influences and empower them with positivity,” she said.

Dan Mills, a new SUNY Plattsburgh professor, said regardless of how the money is spent, he would like to see some type of a focus on the college students.

“I hope the city will think more broadly and think of the students,” he said. “They’re really hungry to get involved.”

SUPPORTING OTHER ORGANIZATIONS

Fuller said she thinks some of those funds could also be put toward community organizations like NAMI (National Alliance for Mental Illness) and STOP Domestic Violence.

Baker agreed, stating that the money could be allocated to entities such as First Weekends to help bring in different events and offerings in the future.

“This initiative should help the people and the organizations in Plattsburgh,” she said. “There more time and effort we put toward the people in this community, the better we will all be as a whole.”

State officials and participating consulting firms are currently planning additional meetings, interviews and surveys for the public. Dates, locations and times are yet to be determined. For more information about the downtown revitalization initiative, visit www.cityofplattsburgh.com.

Comments (1)

Impractical

This is why you don't do economic or community development by survey or popular opinion. Ideas and opinions can be taken into account, but you will always get the nonsense of bringing general retail back which won't happen; to copy Burlington which we are not (they being their state's biggest city) instead of being a great Plattsburgh; that there's nothing to do which is nonsense; thatanything done must be "free" vs. economically sustainable......